| This auto/ethnographic, sacred performance text constitutes a radical, interpretive, political act. It argues for and is an exemplar of, what I define as a socially conscious, imagination-intellect. It counters the traditional notion that scientists or so-called rational thinkers, and artists or so-called creative-emotional thinkers operate via different thinking processes. It asserts that there is an inextricable link between the imagination and intellect and that the primary distinction between the cognitive abilities of scholars and artists is not the thinking process itself but rather the end-products produced. As an African American woman and an activist artist educator, I believe that socially conscious, imagination-intellectual development should be the primary goal of k--12 public schooling, and that Maxine Greene's aesthetic appreciation, and aesthetic expression; John Dewey's lived experience, and aesthetic experience through exposure to the arts is the key to this development. As one of the "new writers" Norman K. Denzin describes this project situates me in his "seventh moment" of qualitative research. I've created an intentionally "messy text" comprised of collage, plays, poetry, an article, papers, and an essay. I use rhetorical repetition for emphasis and poems, blocks of text, and other works cited flow in and out of the sections creating a rich series of what Albert Murray defines as "blues statements" designed to be co-owned, co-interpreted, and co-performed by each person who interacts with the work. I want this work to challenge its reader audience to engage in self, political, and morally critical reflection. I want this project to inspire educators, students, and community members to express themselves using radical, non-traditional forms of expression which argue for social justice, and urban education reform. |
